Thursday, April 24, 2014

(1 Timothy 2:1‑2) Therefore I exhort first of all that supplications,
prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks be made for all men, {2} for kings
and all who are in authority, that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in
all godliness and reverence.

Thursday, May 1st is the National Day of Prayer.It is a time of national repentance and
prayer for our great country.Here is
some history about the National Day of Prayer:

1775 - The first Continental
Congress called for a National Day of Prayer. 1863 - Abraham Lincoln called for
such a day. 1952 - Congress established the NDP as an annual event by a joint
resolution, signed into law by President Truman. 1988 - The law was amended and
signed by President Reagan, designating the NDP as the first Thursday in May.

In the Bible we see the nation of
Israel calling upon the Lord in times of great need:

- King Hezekiah when the Assyrian’s
came to conquer the land (2 Kings 18-19)

- King Jehoshaphat when the people
of Moab and Ammon came against Israel (2 Chronicles 20)

Each time God graciously delivered
His people.Even outside Israel, nations
were able to call upon the Lord in repentance.Jonah preached to Nineveh and they repented at his message and the Lord
relented from the disaster He said He would bring upon the people (Jonah
3).

President George W. Bush held a
special national day of prayer just three days after the 9-11 terrorist attacks
on our country.God honors prayer.We have risen from the ashes.Our economy has recovered and America is back
in business even after the Great Recession.That’s the mercy of God.It sure
hasn’t been because of our ongoing repentance or moral uprightness.But now we have another opportunity to seek
God on this upcoming National Day of Prayer.

Wherever you are this Thursday, say
a prayer for our nation.Let’s claim the
great promise of the Bible: (2 Chronicles 7:14) if My people who are
called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn
from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their
sin and heal their land.

The greatest and most effective
thing we can do for your country is to pray.God loves America.Let’s fight
for her on our knees!

(Psalm 144:15) Happy are the people
who are in such a state; Happy are the people whose God is the LORD!

Wednesday, April 16, 2014

(Mat 28:9) And as they went to tell His
disciples, behold, Jesus met them, saying, “Rejoice!” So they came and held Him
by the feet and worshiped Him.

The word rejoice isn’t very
popular in our vocabulary these days.It
means to be glad and to enjoy life.Nowadays we just say let’s party!But do we have to wait for the weekend to have a good time?Is it just that one vacation a year that we
can really live it up?Do we have to
drudge through life and only wait for certain times before we can get that lift
and forget all about our problems?

It was the women who were the
last at the cross and the first at the tomb.The disciples had fled and were sequestered for fear of their
lives.Leave it to the ladies to be so
devoted and the men to be so spiritually timid.It ought not to be but the reality is that women have such a beautiful
sensitivity to spiritual things and sometimes men just don’t get it.But be that as it may, the Lord rewards faithfulness
and dedication and that is why Jesus appeared to the women first before the
men.And what was the first word He said
to them?Rejoice!

What a wonderful surprise for the
women.Their sorrow was over and Jesus
said it was time for them to be glad and joyful.They dropped to their knees and held Jesus’
feet and worshipped Him.Jesus said to
go and tell His disciples that He had risen and that He would meet up with them
in Galilee.So they went out quickly
from the tomb with fear and great joy, and ran to bring His disciples word.Jesus was alive and it was time to
celebrate!

But is it possible to celebrate
and be happy even when the chips are down?Or do you have to wait until you aren’t beat anymore to be upbeat?The Bible says you can be glad and enjoy life
no matter what the circumstances.In
fact you can be in the pits and still praise!Paul said from prison:Rejoice in the Lord always. Again I will
say, rejoice! (Phil 4:4)When he and
Silas were arrested in Philippi they were thrown into prison where they were
singing praises at midnight and the other prisoners were listening.The Bible says there was a great earthquake
and the chains were loosed from the prisoners.Through this the jailer and his
family got saved and were baptized! (Acts 16:25-34)

Knowing Jesus is risen gives hope
to the believer!(1 Pet 1:3) Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who
according to His abundant mercy has begotten us again to a living hope through
the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.We have a living hope because we have a
living Savior.Happiness depends on
circumstances but joy is a fruit of the Spirit that is available for us no
matter what we’re going through. (Gal 5:22-23)

Rejoice Christian!Jesus is alive!!Tomorrow is going to be a better day because He
lives!!!

Thursday, April 10, 2014

(Psa 118:24) This is the day the Lord has
made; we will rejoice and be glad in it.

I don’t know about you but
mornings are not the easiest time of day for me.I usually wake up groggy and it takes me a
good cup of joe and a little time to ease into my day.My brain will then finally begin to fire on
all cylinders and I’ll be good to go.All
the while my prayer will rise to the Lord as I claim the day for Him and choose
to rejoice and be glad in it.

There was one special day when Jesus
rode into Jerusalem on a donkey and the people greeted Him with shouts of
hosannas (Mat 21:1-11).We call this the
Triumphal entry or Palm Sunday and we count it as a week before Easter
Resurrection Sunday.But did you know
that Psalm 118:24 has special significance to this day and is a fulfillment of
Daniel 9:25?: “Know therefore and understand, That from the going forth of the
command To restore and build Jerusalem Until Messiah the Prince, There shall be
seven weeks and sixty-two weeks; The street shall be built again, and the wall,
Even in troublesome times.

Sir Robert Anderson in his book,
The Coming Prince, has worked out the time schedule. Using a 360-day year
(which Israel used in Daniel's day), he calculated 173,880 days (69 weeks) from
the decree of Cyrus to restore and build Jerusalem to the triumphal entry,
fulfilling the prophecy to the day.On
this day Jesus rode into Jerusalem, offering Himself for the first time,
publicly and officially, as the Messiah.What an amazing prophecy fulfilled in the Bible!This was the day the Lord has made…the day
Jesus rode in on that donkey as predicted by the prophet Zechariah: “Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion! Shout,
O daughter of Jerusalem! Behold, your King is coming to you; He is just and
having salvation, Lowly and riding on a donkey, A colt, the foal of a donkey. (Zech
9:9)

When we wake up it’s time to give
the Lord the day and say This is the day
the Lord has made; I will rejoice and be glad in it.No matter what lies ahead you know the Lord
has gone before you and you can face the day confidently.(Joshua
1:9) Have I not commanded you? Be strong
and of good courage; do not be afraid, nor be dismayed, for the Lord your God
is with you wherever you go.”We can
then yield our bodies as a living sacrifice to serve the Lord throughout the
day: (Rom 12:1) I beseech you therefore, brethren,
by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy,
acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service.

All we have is today.We can grunt it out or we can praise it
through.(Heb 3:15)…“Today, if you will hear His voice, Do not harden your
hearts as in the rebellion.(Deu 30:19)…choose
life, that both you and your descendants may live.(Heb 13:8) Jesus Christ is the same
yesterday, TODAY, and forever.Let’s
say it together:This is the day the Lord has made; we will rejoice and be glad in it! (Psa
118:24)I’m ready for a good day, aren’t
you?

Thursday, April 3, 2014

(Acts 24:16)…I myself always strive to have a
conscience without offense toward God and men.

Conscience.That sense of right or wrong when an action
is performed.Inside us is a moral consciousness
that is God-given so we may always do the right thing and not have to be nagged
with a guilty feeling.We’ve all felt it from our first lie to modern
day.Our conscience will accuse us or
excuse us.It’s a gift and makes for a
soft pillow to sleep on at night.

Paul put it this way:(Rom
2:14-15)for when Gentiles, who do not
have the law, by nature do the things in the law, these, although not having
the law, are a law to themselves, 15 who show the work of the law written in
their hearts, their conscience also bearing witness, and between themselves
their thoughts accusing or else excusing them).Well said Paul!Man is morally responsible because of his
capacity of choice.A conscience is like
a judge and it’s better to pay this lower court judge now than to have to answer
to God’s higher court when each of us stands before Him.

The Bible speaks of three types
of conscience:

A GOOD CONSCIENCE:(1 Tim
1:19) having faith and a good conscience, which some having rejected,
concerning the faith have suffered shipwreck.Paul was guided by this internal moral compass and it did him well
as he strove to be righteous before God and men.

A BAD CONSCIENCE:(1 Sam
24:5) Now it happened afterward that David's heart troubled him because he had
cut Saul's robe.The Holy Spirit
works with our conscience so we may always do those things that please
God.(Rom
9:1) I tell the truth in Christ, I am not lying, my conscience also bearing me
witness in the Holy Spirit.

A SEARED CONSCIENCE:(1 Tim
4:1 2) Now the Spirit expressly says that in latter times some will depart from
the faith, giving heed to deceiving spirits and doctrines of demons, 2 speaking
lies in hypocrisy, having their own conscience seared with a hot iron. Seared to means to brand or to cauterize.A person may deny their conscience repeatedly
to the point of not being able to listen to it anymore.

A man consulted a psychiatrist.
He complained, "I've been misbehaving, Doc, and my conscience is troubling
me." The doctor asked, "And you want something that will strengthen
your willpower?" The fellow replied, "Well, no, I was thinking of
something that would weaken my conscience."

LOUE AND CHERYL MONTEITH

About Me

My wife Cheryl and I are missionaries to missionaries. We encourage servants of the Lord to keep on in their calling and to never give up. 1 Corinthians 15:58 Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your labor is not in vain in the Lord.